Too little, too late as politicians, pundits and other fans finally wake up to what is happening

I think that it’s great that certain fans, pundits and politicians have started to rebel against the domination of football by big money and a small elite.

However, I’ve got to ask this question.

What took you so long? This process has been going on for at least the last two decades.

Lets start with the fans.

I thought it was really heartening to see fans of ‘The big six’ protesting about the European Super League proposals, but the domination of football by big money and a small elite has benefited their clubs massively, and I can’t remember many instances of them complaining about this in the past.

Would they be prepared to go in the opposite direction and have a situation where money and power and trophies are shared out more equitably amongst the clubs?

Part of the magic of The FA Cup was that any team from the top two divisions could believe their name was on that trophy but now we have a situation where it is almost always won by one of the elite clubs. Would they like to go back to how things used to be?

I also have a sneaking suspicion that a large part of their worldwide fanbase would probably still rather see them playing the likes of Real Madrid or Juventus on a regular basis instead of the likes of Burnley and Brighton.

Now lets look at the pundits.

They might be up in arms about the present proposals but they have supported that narrative that certain clubs should be appearing in the Champions League and winning trophies on a regular basis, whilst certain other clubs should be just happy to survive and be grateful to have the chance to rub shoulders with ‘the big boys.’

You hardly ever hear pundits challenging the fans of the ‘Top six’ sense of entitlement, whilst on a regular basis they will tell fans of other clubs that they need to know their place and be careful what they wish for.

Finally, lets look at the politicians.

I watched the debate in parliament when Chi Onwurah brought up the way that Mike Ashley was running Newcastle United. A lot of the Southern, Conservative MPs who were in attendance, treated it all like it was a bit of a joke but suddenly now, they’re interested in the state of football?

When I’ve contacted the Minister for Sport in the past you get the stock answer that Mike Ashley has passed the fit and proper person test so as far as they’re concerned everything is fine.

It’s not only Newcastle United though where an owner has abused his position and fans have been powerless to do anything about it. It’s happened at other clubs such as Charlton and Blackpool, yet the politicians and the people who run the game have been quite happy with the status quo.

So I think it’s great that all these different people are now looking at the state of football in this country but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a case of too little and too late.